I thought there's a shortage of nurses in the Philippines??
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so why is it sooo hard to get a job as a nurse in the Philippines? particularly in manila. why aren't hospitals hiring?... Read More

Sep 18, '07

what suzanne explained here is true indeed, reality check for most of the nurses, and with the retrogression still in place, having passed an NCLEX exam is not a gurantee at all, I wonder if NCLEX exams will be put on hold for the moment while retrogression is still in place, it will just make matters worst for those who want to take the exam, pass it and then have to wait for a couple of years, even more . . unless, they can wait . . things changed nowadays, I guess, some newly grads need to honed their skills and try considering other countries too, let say, NZ, Australia and/or Canada....here in UK though, due to the recent increase of member countries from EU, nurses from Philippines are no longer on the government's top priorities. . .well, that's life. . ...

Sep 18, '07

The UK is no longer a viable option for any nurses from other continents that do not have an EU passport, it is extremely difficult to get a license there now, let alone a visa to work there. They actually are not renewing visas of those that have been there for several years.

And yes, many other countries want to see a local license as well as two years of experience at a minimum. This is exactly one big problem being caused by the over abundance of nurses that are being trained, no place for them to work in their field to get experience to go anywhere else. This is something that needs to be corrected in your country first, before anything else; instead of us hearing of new schools continuing to open up all of the time. Their instructors have no experience before teaching, so the students do not get the proper training that they need.

I am sure that there are some that will not agree with me, but I am thrilled that they are reinstituting the mandatory year of service or internship that they had in the past when nurses that graduated back when I did were required to complete. And that is where the excellent reputation came from. Back then, not from the training that we are seeing now.

And there are other provinces in your country that really need the help and you could help others, makes more sense to do that than look for jobs or training that you need to pay for to stay in Manila. If you really want to help others, no better place to start than your country, and you get the actual experience that you do in fact truly need. And you can make a difference in someone's life.

Sep 18, '07

And there is a very valid reason that other countries want nurses that have experience before they will grant them a visa. They want to see that their skills are adequate.

Sep 21, '07

there is a shortage....in the provinces BUT NOT IN METRO MANILA! nurses wants to get a job in hospitals here in manila even those who live thousand miles from here, they rather leave their families in their hometown provinces just to work in the cities..hhaayyy... hospitals in the provinces are empty, im talking about big hospitals, general hospitals, medical centers in the provinces..no medical practitioners. indeed there is a shortage

You are going to find it difficult to find work in your country, and it is going to be a couple of years for you to get to the US, and that is not guaranteed. You may wish to consider other countries first to get the experience in place.

You are going to be up against many, many from your country that wish to work in the US, and there are less than 10,000 visas available per year for those from your country. Suspect that there are more than 10 times that number now waiting in one form or another. Just is not going to happen as quickly as some want, and for some, it is not going to happen.

That's so true. I am almost done with almost everyone exam required for nurses wanting to go to america but am still here in the Philippines.

To those new grads and new passers, consider passing all the exams (CGFNS, NCLEX, IELTS) before you work. Consider going to other countries to practice.

Lawrence is right, the government just can't or won't try to afford hiring nurses for the government hospitals and health units in the rural areas. That's a sad reality here that we have to deal with.

there is a shortage....in the provinces BUT NOT IN METRO MANILA! nurses wants to get a job in hospitals here in manila even those who live thousand miles from here, they rather leave their families in their hometown provinces just to work in the cities..hhaayyy... hospitals in the provinces are empty, im talking about big hospitals, general hospitals, medical centers in the provinces..no medical practitioners. indeed there is a shortage

No shortage even in Bacolod city, province of Negros Occidental. In fact, there is an oversupply. So much that there are no job vacancies for nurses and that private hospitals here see it as a lucrative business(you pay for working as a volunteer under a 3-month contract). For government hospitals, well, unless can afford to work for free, then you shouldn't work there.

In addition, a lot of nurses work not as a nurse but under other jobs(call center, etc.) because there are no vacancies and they'd earn, hence underemployed.

If people just had a choice of nationality(to choose their allegiance/citizenship), I'm sure it won't be Philippines.

Mar 18, '08

I don't believe that their is a shortage of nurses here in manila & even in the provinces.
just imagine the numbers of nurses who passed nle(btw they are 2 nle per year).some nurses in the provinces would want to work in bigger hospitals here in mla,add those who were already residents of mla..there were piles of applications in hrd,they wouldn't even bother to look at it unless you have a relative inside who can talk to them & process your application asap!even if you didn't pass the qualifying examinations,that's fine,its who you know that matters.nurses in the provinces have 1:30 ratio (based on my aunt's experience),still hospitals won't hire,if 1 nurse can do everything why get another 1...

Mar 18, '08

Yesterday I was grinning and beaming because I passed the nclex. I've been applying to hospitals for 2 months now still no positive response from them. I'm out of money and most of the tertiary hospitals that I know asks for training fees. Prior to shifting to nursing I am a microbiologist, and sad to say janitors are well paid than nurses here!!! I'd rather be a microbiologist again. I'm torn between going back to my old profession and earn but my nursing skills will definitely suffer. :innerconfVisa screen application is $478 x 40= thats almost 20k!!!! Plus IELTS around 9k....I'm really confused now!!!
Nurses salary here is 4500-6000 pesos a month...that's not enough to feed me for a month.
I tried teaching it's hard to teach if you have limited experience. You need to take MAN and that's another expense. :urgycld:
The highs and lows of passing the nclex...:thnkg:so what do I do now?

Mar 22, '08

that's a gloomy forecast for someone like me who wants to apply here in manila

i really need 6 months experience since i want to apply to apply to the crne...

...a classmate of mine already had a headstart--she's been to 6-8 hospitals and waiting for a year now...well ah...she hasn't received a call to any of the hospitals she's applied to...

i guess it's really that bad huh?

oh hey, i got a question: if i train with a hospital (i know some hospitals that conduct training but you gotta pay 'em), will that be considered hospital experience? can that be considered in the crne application...

share your thoughts...thanks :d

Mar 23, '08

Any training programs are considered just that, training. And they do not count as work experience in any other country.

Your country keeps wishing to train more and more nurses knowing well that there just are no jobs for them there, or in many other countries if they do not have actual work experience first.

This is extremely unfair to many of you, but again, most of you that just went into your training a couple of years ago, did so knowing that there were few if no jobs available where you live.

And we expect the US to require experience just like most other countries in the near future. If anything as a weeding tool since there are so many of you that wish to work in the US and not near enough visas to go around.